Can’t sleep ? Banish that loved one from your bedroom…

If SLEEP eludes you, do a head count of who is in the bedroom. Sharing your bedroom with your pets, can end up impacting the quality of your sleep.

You struggle to get a good night’s sleep………………

Eish ! And you know good health, begins with good sleep.

Sleep hygiene 101

You’ve tackled the BIG dream stealers

Too much caffeine, just before bed
Too much blue light, just before bed
Too much fun stuff, just before bed

In addition to tackling the excesses, you’re also jogging on the treadmill daily, to make sure that you are physically tired, when you climb into your custom designed rock-a-bye bed.

And still, SLEEP eludes you.

Whose still in the bedroom ?

Mmmmmmmmmmmmmm. It might be time to do a head count of who IS in the bedroom. The heads you’re particularly counting on not the size of a pin head, although these heads can definitely disrupt bedtime experiences. The heads are those of your fur friends.

Staff from the prestigious Mayo Clinic Centre for Sleep Medicine in Arizona, have discovered 10 percent of their clients, acknowledged their pets, impacted negatively on their sleep.

What pets get up to in the bedroom

The comprehensive questionnaire revealed a variety of fur friend behaviours, impacted the bedroom experiences, of their human companion.

The list included

Snoring
Whimpering
Wandering
Stealing the blankets

Okay, dogs and cats don’t actually STEAL the blanket, unlike human bed companions, who do. But they snuggle up, systematically displacing YOU, as they take over the bed. Leaving you frantically clinging to the edge of the bed. Or if you’re not actively resisting – ceremonially dumping you on the floor ! Ouch

Pawing into your dreams

And of course…………….. there is the

WAKE UP NOW ! I NEED TO GO !

A message that might be a false alarm, but one that cannot be ignored… because, it will cause a great deal more sleep disruption, if your fur friend REALLY DOES NEED TO GO.

And of course, the presence of a pet, often means you don’t need an alarm clock.

The built in alarm clock

Pets like to get up EARLY.

Since the average pet, spends the majority of their day sleeping, the idea that you may wish to catch another forty winks, at the start of the day, is unfathomable. In their mind, there will be multiple opportunities to catch another forty winks, day break only happens ONCE a day. Celebrating the occasion is the logical thing to do.

Now to be fair, rising and shining early does have health benefits. But, rising at 4.35 am as the sun peeks over the horizon, can seriously diminish your sleep quota.

Sleeping alone

Might sound rather lonely.

But if you are struggling to have a good night’s sleep, it might be time to banish your fur friends from your bedroom.

NB. Better body chemistry begins with a good night’s sleep !

Are Your Pets Disturbing Your Sleep ? Paper presented at the 29th Annual Meeting of the Associated Professional Sleep Societies

Interested in learning more about how to get a good night’s sleep ?

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